Tennis: Siegemund and Niemeier in round two of the Australian Open

With a show of strength, tennis player Laura Siegemund reached the second round of the Australian Open. The 36-year-old from Metzingen won after 3:16 hours against the American Hailey Baptiste 4:6, 7:5, 6:4. In the second round, Siegemund will face Chinese tournament favorite Zheng Qinwen.

A little later, Jule Niemeier followed her into the second round. The Dortmund player gave Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska no chance when she won 6-0, 6-1 in just 74 minutes and survived the opening round of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne for the first time in her career. The 25-year-old from Dortmund will now play against number 17 seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostjuk or Nao Hibino from Japan.

Siegemund wants to enjoy the moment

Siegemund made it much more exciting and celebrated their opening victory with an emotional jump. “That means a lot to me,” said the 36-year-old: “I’m just proud of myself that something like that can still happen even on a not so good day when I’m playing so-so.”

The doubles specialist didn’t want to look ahead to the big challenge against Zheng. Siegemund said she wanted to take the time to “enjoy what’s going on”: “I don’t feel like dealing with the next opponent 30 seconds after a match.”

Siegemund’s happier ending in the unusual match

Siegemund’s marathon match on the uncovered Court 15 in Melbourne was characterized by a great fight – but also by enormous weaknesses in his own serve. Both opponents received a total of 15 breaks.